This document defines and provides examples of 10 common literary terms: biography, iambic pentameter, blank verse, catastrophe, and characterization. It notes that a biography is an account of a person's life written by someone else. It provides an example of iambic pentameter from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Blank verse is defined as unrhymed iambic pentameter, and it notes most of Shakespeare's works use this form. Catastrophe refers to the tragic climax of a play, such as Oedipus discovering the truth in Oedipus the King. Characterization is defined as the personality a character displays and how the author reveals it.